silent howl
by me myself and ink
Summary: Earth is the first of two dimensions And i happen to be from the second one. where i come from, people can transform into a pre-destined animal. I can't really remember anything about my home, though. i came to earth before it was destroyed by war. zakPOV
1. prologue

**Hey guys! To those of you who have read the old version of this story, I can  
>guarantee you will like this story SO much better than the old one. If you<br>haven't read the old version of this story, WELCOME!**

**Well, I've kept some of you waiting long enough, go have a look!**

**.::~)thank you ****PhantomGirl12 for being my beta(~::.**

**Prologue**

When I was little, I used to live in a very different place. It was, for lack of a better word, golden. Everything was always so beautiful and the people were all so caring. We were, as you would say, a unique race.

I can't really remember anything about my home, though. Just a few things about my family, or major events.

but there was one thing I remember, clear as day. There was this tree I loved to climb when I was little. It was a special kind of tree, one that never lost its leaves. It was called asile.

In the summer, the leaves would turn into solid silver. I would pick one leaf  
>every day and go down to the lake behind our house. Even though the leaves<br>were metal then, they would always float. I would set the leaf in the water  
>along with the ones from the days before and just watch the colors of the<br>sunset reflect off them in the evening.

In the spring, they would turn a soft creamy white and the veins threaded  
>through them turned all sorts of colors. I would sit on the ground, propped<br>against the trunk and just watch as the petals were slowly plucked from the  
>tree and spread by the wind around me.<p>

In the fall they turned to diamond like ice, that reflected the rainbow in  
>every direction when the sun hit them just right. I would watch from a<br>distance as the day passed and the light shifted and the colors changed from  
>one place to the next along with the movement of the sun.<p>

And in the winter, they turned the most beautiful gold. It's that kind of gold  
>that seems to be almost powdered that seems to give of that light glow in the<br>sun. I would sit bundled up in who knows how many layers, sipping my Lavnali.  
>It's like you're hot chocolate, but vanilla.<p>

It was my favorite place in the whole world. Granted, I was only 8 and I  
>hadn't actually been anywhere else in the world. But still.<p>

You're confused right? The whole, leaves changing from metal, to plant, to never  
>melting ice got your brain in a twist? Or are you thinking 'this kid's<br>delusional'? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret.

Earth is the first of two dimensions. And guess what?

I just happen to be from the second one.

Mind boggling, isn't it? Well, hearse a new loop to through you through.

See, in the dimension I come from, the people can do something you would  
>consider absolutely amazing. They can change form.<p>

No, you heard me right. Everyone where I come from has a spirit inside them  
>that reflects their personality, one that they can transform into whenever they<br>choose. Want examples? No? Well I'm gonna give you some anyway.

First example. My dad. His spirit was one of the coolest, in my opinion. He  
>was a phoenix. But not necessarily the kind you think of. See, his phoenix<br>spirit was in the form of a bird, but he was made completely out of solid  
>fire. If that makes sense. But get this. The fire never burned anything.<p>

Ya, cool right? You could just go right up to the flames and touch them with  
>your hand and you know what it would feel like? Nothing. It would feel sort of<br>like water. You know, not necessarily that wet feeling you get when you get  
>out of water, but just when you stick your hand in, and you feel that kind of<br>numb pressure all around it? That's what it would feel like.

And it was literally perfect for him. I remember my mom always saying he had  
>the fire in his eyes. He was one of the nicest people you could ever hope to<br>meet. He was fierce and protective and determined. Anything you threw at him  
>he would take and through it right back.<p>

Then there's my mom. Her spirit was a cheetah. She was amazing. She was light  
>on her feet, a quick thinker, and she always had this fierce side of her that<br>came out whenever someone was in trouble.

What about me, you ask? Well, I don't know yet. But I'll find out.

It'll be my 12th birthday soon, which is the day that every kid from my  
>dimension waits for. It's when their spirit is revealed to them and they can<br>transform into it. Up until our 12th birthday we're no different from you

guys.

Now, here's where the bad new starts. You guys notice how I've been using past  
>tense on a lot of this stuff? Well, it's not just because I'm not in my home<br>dimension anymore.

So I told you the people of my dimension were incredible people right? I mean,  
>how they're all so nice? That wasn't exactly the case when I left.<p>

Before I left, a war had reached its climax between the spirit races.

There were all sorts of alliances against common enemies, but in the end they  
>were all against each other.<p>

We used to live in peace with each other, but one day that understanding  
>seemed to have just… left.<p>

It was sea life against land life. Sharks against dolphins. Whales against  
>sharks. Squids joining with the dolphins and the sharks. Birds against felines<br>(thank god my parents didn't take part in that one) felines against the dogs,  
>the dogs with the birds. And so many others it's impossible to remember them<p>

all.

But then, it all went up in flames.

Throughout the war we had slowly been chipping away at the world little by  
>little until the strain was too much, and disaster raked the world.<p>

Volcanoes, hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, lightning strikes, fires,  
>earthquakes, blizzards, floods, everything that could have gone wrong, did.<p>

Now, you'd think that we'd band together and save ourselves from the mess we  
>created, right? Wrong. We went to war.<p>

I mean, we were already in war, but this time everyone was fighting against  
>everyone. It didn't matter if you were the same spirit type anymore. All that<br>mattered was coming out on top of everyone else.

During the battle, everything went wrong at once.

I can't say I actually remember that this part happened, but I remember what I  
>thought while it was.<p>

I had been scared. Really scared. I remember thinking that the world had  
>finally said enough is enough, and wanted to destroy itself so it wouldn't<br>have to witness the bloodshed. Maybe it realized it would be taking us down  
>with it, and maybe it didn't. Who knows?<p>

But anyway, something I forgot to mention earlier.

We didn't actually know that our dimension was one of two. Probably like you.  
>But my parent had their suspicions. My dad was a scientist and had been<br>studying these… things that seemed to appear out of a bright shining light.  
>And my mother was kind of like what you would call a psychic. Just not in the<br>same sense.

Only when I arrived on earth did I find out what the things that had been  
>appearing were. Some were just trinkets. Like a music box (yes, I know.<br>Shocking. Such a great race didn't have something as simple as a music box.)  
>Or little statues of some reptile like creature I later found out was a<br>dragon. Others were more… interesting, you could say.

One of them was a car. Thank god it didn't come with the keys or who knows  
>what would have happened. Or something like a printer. Maybe a TV. You get the<p>

point.

My mother believed they were coming from another world. Not like, alien or  
>anything, just…. Someplace different. Turns out she was right.<p>

On the day of the war, my mother said she had received a vision of the other  
>world the things were coming from and she had said it was the best chance I<br>had at survival. I hadn't realized what she meant by that at the time.  
>Today, 12:19am<p>

My father, however skeptical he was, agreed to try to open up a gateway there  
>long enough for someone to go through if it meant there was a chance we might<p>

live.

Or, rather, that I might live.

My mother knew that the portal would have to open up at some place with  
>special significance to the person going through. Obviously, it was my favorite tree.<p>

Remember how I said asile trees were special? It's because they were. Even to  
>us. They were a dying breed. Ours was one of the few left in the world. Our<br>other trees were basically the same as yours.

That's why I was devastated when the portal opened. I hadn't realized it  
>would have to destroy the tree in the process, but it did.<p>

That's when I started to cry.

It actually took me a moment to realize that up until that second, I had never  
>cried because of the war. But now I was. I was crying for my tree. I was<br>crying for my home. I was crying for everything and everyone that was lost in  
>the battle.<p>

Including my parents.

They said…. That they couldn't come with me. That no matter how much I  
>wanted them too, that they couldn't. Because this place only held true<br>significance to me. So they couldn't follow me through the portal.

We all knew they wouldn't have time to open one for them.

So I went through alone, and I ended up in New York City, right smack dab in  
>the middle of central park.<p>

And my home was lost to me in more ways than one.

Forever.

I was still crying.

I stayed like that for a long, long time. Well into the night, before I got up  
>and climbed a nearby tree to sleep. That's when something fell out of my pocket.<p>

I jumped back down to the ground and realized that maybe, just maybe, not  
>everything was lost.<p>

What had fallen was a seed. And not just any seed. It was pretty big compared  
>to your seeds. It fit snugly in the palm of my hand.<p>

An asile seed.

I still haven't planted it to this day.

I had to learn the ways of this world fast if I wanted to survive, so that's  
>what I did.<p>

I forged documents, I got good at voice impersonation, and before I knew it, I  
>was living in a condo learning all I could every day by observing and taking<br>school online.

Today, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between me and any other  
>ordinary kid on the planet.<p>

Lucky me.

But I'm sure you've had enough of this. I'll tell you of more recent…  
>developments… later.<p>

**.::~)to be continued(~::.  
><strong>

**So, what do you think? Please give me a review. I love reviews. And so should  
>you. After all, the more reviews, the faster the chapters :)<strong>


	2. a long day

**Hey guys! I'm back! And sorry for the delay. I was actually planning on having  
>this posted a while ago, but then I went on this trip to Europe and well….<br>ya… not much I could do about this story in another country :)**

_I had to learn the ways of this world fast if I wanted to survive, so that's  
>what I did.<em>

_I forged documents, I got good at voice impersonation, and before I knew it, I  
>was living in a condo learning all I could every day by observing and taking<br>school online._

_Today, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between me and any other  
>ordinary kid on the planet.<em>

_Lucky me._

_But I'm sure you've had enough of this. I'll tell you of more recent…  
>developments… later.<br>_**  
>Chapter 1 ~ A Long Day ~ Zak's POV<strong>

My world was called Stone.

I know, Stone. I don't know who's bright idea that was, but that's what we  
>called it. Of course, it did cause a little confusion when we were talking<br>about an actual stone, because people couldn't figure out if they meant the  
>rock, or the world.<p>

But hey, you guys call it Earth. That's just the snotty way to say it.

Anyway, I felt I should fill you in on a few more things, seeing as how I  
>didn't tell you last time we talked.<p>

My mother's name was Lily, and my father was Jake.

Strange, isn't it? Our worlds were completely separate, and yet they were  
>incredibly similar.<p>

I mean, the people have the same physical build, we have all the same  
>languages, and even the creatures we turn into are the same. Maybe different<br>sizes or colors, but we had bears and wolves. Dolphins, whales, bunnies, etc.  
>(I have a theory of how you guys came up with your mythical creatures though.<br>I came to your world after all. I think it's the only portal that was open  
>but you never know. I mean my dad was a phoenix. My uncle was a dragon. I knew<br>someone who was a gargoyle. See what I'm getting at?) But, and I'm saying this  
>at the risk of sounding like I have a big ego, I think we had higher IQ's and<br>more brain capacity than you guys do. Which is strange, seeing as how you have  
>even more ingenious inventions than we did.<p>

But I'm getting off track.

See, when I got here I didn't have anything. Only the seed and the knowledge  
>that my home was gone.<p>

At first, I was terrified. I mean, who wouldn't be? Your world was very  
>strange to me at first. I just couldn't grasp the idea of some of the things<br>you considered ordinary. Like a plane. I thought it was a bird. Then I saw one  
>up close. To this day I still have problems wrapping my head around the<p>

internet.

But it was okay. I stayed out of peoples way often enough to avoid suspicion  
>at first. Most of the time I just hung back, at the edge of everyone's vision<br>and observed their daily lives. Imagine my surprise when I discovered you lot  
>couldn't transform.<p>

But that was basically how it went for the first few weeks. I slept in a tree  
>in central park. Then I started getting hungry.<p>

Here's one of the things that is different in the way our bodies work. I guess  
>you could say we're like a camel, but that's not really how it works. I'm not<br>sure why, but we can go for at least 3 weeks before we get hungry, and then  
>another week before we die. But we eat regularly like you guys. I mean, just<br>because you can survive for a week without food doesn't mean you only eat once  
>a week does it? We normally just have one meal a day. Although, our bodies<br>need water the same way yours does. Thank goodness for all those water

fountains.

And that's when I found out how money works.

I found it really weird at first, because in Stone you didn't need money. You  
>got points which were uploaded to a card you wore around your neck and the<br>person just scanned the card and deducted the points.

You got points regularly every week from the government, and they decided it  
>by your life story. Better education growing up, more points. An athlete would<br>get more points than a desk jokey and a scientist got more points than an  
>athlete. See where I'm going? It's the same basics, but different.<p>

Again, off track. Where was I? Oh. Right. So that's when I ran into my first  
>real problem.<p>

I didn't have any money, and I had no idea how to get some. I mean, I was only  
>8 at the time. Do you know where an 8 year old could get a job? Didn't think<p>

so.

And before you jump to conclusions, I didn't steal or con anyone. I found a  
>hot dog vendor who wasn't doing too good selling his food, so I made a deal<br>with him. On free hot dog every day for a secret recipe to make his hot dogs  
>taste better. He took the deal and by next month he was the most popular food<br>stand in the city. (My people had an uncanny ability to cook)

But I still needed a place to live. There was no way I was going to live in a  
>tree for the rest of my life. So then I went back to the same food vendor and<br>I made a deal with him that I would do all the work for him (except pay for  
>the things) as long as I got a third of the profits. He agreed and by the end<br>of next month I had managed to fool someone into selling a condo to my  
>'parents' who didn't actually exist. Been living there ever since.<p>

I still have the deal going with the food vendor guy though, seeing as how I  
>need money to buy new clothes and food and such. And after a while I even got a<br>laptop and applied to an online school.

Remember how I said we had a higher IQ earlier? Well that's because I  
>discovered that everything a college student was learning was common knowledge<br>to kids from my dimension by the age of 7. Cool, huh?

So the online school was basically pointless, but I needed to know what you  
>people learn at what age should it ever come up. It hasn't.<p>

And that's how I started my day. Online school.

But I wasn't really doing anything. I couldn't concentrate. Not today.

Ten minutes later I gave up completely.

I had another problem. Today's my birthday. My twelfth birthday. And  
>absolutely nothing was happening.<p>

But that's not the problem. The problem is that something will happen. And I  
>may be in a condo, out of the view of other people, but I'm in New York City.<br>Right in the middle of New York City. And I had no idea when I was going to  
>transform. Meaning I had to stay in my small condo all day.<p>

See, that's the problem. It's small. What if I transform into something big?  
>Like an elephant or something? I don't think the floors could support a two<br>ton elephant.

There's always the possibility that I'll be something small, but if I'm not,  
>there will be a big problem.<p>

And I could transform at any given moment so I can't just go out. If I could  
>I would leave the city in a heartbeat. I don't know why I didn't think to leave<br>last week. Heck, even yesterday would have given me time to get to a lesser  
>populated area, but now it's too late. Go me.<p>

And it's only 7:30.

This is going to be a long day. 

**.::~)to be continued(~::.**

**Sooooooooooooo? What ya think? Sorry nothing really happened in this chapter.  
>The exciting stuff won't happen until the next chapter. And it'll be longer. I<br>promise :)**

**Beta Message: Hey guys! It's PhantomGirl12 as the beta of this story! Sorry that the betaed version was not up sooner but I had computer troubles. Sigh. At least it's fixed now. ^_^**


	3. stained red

**Sup guys! So I have some bad news. Not about the story, don't worry. Nothing's wrong and it shall continue as planned, but this has to do with communities. Some of you might already know this. Heck, a lot of you probably do, but I've already talked to some people who haven't heard of it and they are seriously mad (well, most of them are. Others are sad. Some don't really care, but you get the point), so I thought I'd let you guys know. So, I just started getting into communities and all that and when I was checking out the secret Saturdays communities, I saw one called 'God awful secret Saturdays fanfiction'. **

**Now how mean is that? I mean seriously. It's incredibly sad that there are communities like that for practically every category on Fanfiction. Net. Of course, I tried to tell the dude what a jerk he was (I'm assuming it's a guy because the profile pic is of a guy) and that he should delete the community, but there was no PM button on his page or any other way to contact them. Anyway, there were quiet a lot and I even saw the story that inspired this one in there. And when I went to his page, the only thing in his bio is how much he hates 'bad' stories, even though most of them aren't actually bad, and how he hates the authors who right them. So of course I'm royally pi***d off. Tell me what you guys think about this. **

**BTW: My beta is having some computer problems, so if there are any mistakes, I'm sorry. I'll be swapping out the chapters for the edited version when I get them so just bear with me for a little while. **

**One more thing. **Argost and any other bad guys** will not be making an appearance in this story. Instead, I made up my own. But trust me; it's so much more interesting this way.**

**Sheesh. I keep forgetting stuff to tell you guys. This is the third time I've had to come back to the authors note and add something.**

**There's a part in this chapter that some younger people who maybe be reading this might find somewhat disturbing. Not gory, just mentally unpleasant. I'll give you a warning later on when the disturbing part starts.**

**Don't say I didn't warn you ;)**

_But that's not the problem. The problem is that something will happen. And I may be in a condo, out of the view of other people, but I'm in New York City. Right in the middle of New York City. And I had no idea when I was going to transform. Meaning I had to stay in my small condo all day._

_See, that's the problem. It's small, what if I transform into something big? Like an elephant or something? I don't think the floors could support a two ton elephant._

_There's always the possibility that I'll be something small, but if I'm not, there will be a big problem._

_And I could transform at any given moment so I can't just go out. If I could, I would leave the city in a heartbeat. I don't know why I didn't think to leave last week. Heck, even yesterday would have given me time to get to a lesser populated area, but now it's too late. Go me._

_And its only 7:30._

_This is going to be a long day._

**Chapter 2 ~ Stained Red**

Hey guys. Long time no see.

Well, for you at least. For me it's only been about 2 hours.

So I'm still freaking out, obviously, but I've been trying to calm myself down and prepare since we last talked.

So, to make this easier, let me give you a quick tour of my condo. Now I know I said it was small, which it is, but it's kinda big as far as condos go.

There's a small hallway leading to the door, and when I say small, I mean it's about 3 feet long. Then you're in the living room. The TV is in the center of the left wall and there's a tan love seat facing it with a rectangular glass coffee table in front of it on top of a multi-colored rug. The rest of the floor is wood and the walls are a soft cream color. Then to the far right is the kitchen. There's one of those big square window things in the wall with a clock above it so anyone can see in and out of the kitchen from the living room. Then to the left of that is just a blank space, no door, that is the entryway into said kitchen.

Once you walk into the kitchen there's one of those big chrome half fridge half freezers shoved up in the back left corner. In the back right corner there's the stove/oven. Stretching between them is a long counter top and cabinets/drawers for cooking items, utensils, and food that doesn't need to be frozen or cooled. There's a small wood table pressed up to the wall right in front of the opening/window with one chair facing the opening and a laptop placed in the center of the table. The walls are a dark tan/crème color.

Back to the living room. Face the same way you did when you first walked through the door and there's this squared out section a few feet from the entrance to the kitchen. On the left wall is the entrance to the bathroom. Nothing much there. Bath/shower, toilet, sink, and mirror. It's the same color as the living room.

Straight to the front is my closet (I always found it weird they didn't put it in the bedroom) and to the right is my bedroom.

The bed room is totally different than the rest of the condo.

It's the only place I felt like making mine.

There isn't actually any furniture in there. Since I own the condo, not rent it, I can do anything I want with it, so I took out most of the floor (I know it doesn't seem like a good idea seeing as how I'm on the 18'th floor and all, but the floor is basically a thick layer of wood, a foot of space, and then 2 feet of concrete. Don't ask me why they made it that way. I have no idea.) and when I say 'took out the floor' I just mean the wood. Then I piled the floor high with mattresses and a layer of that Temperpedic stuff so that it was level with the floor of the rest of the condo. I just coved the whole this with a plain black down comforter and kinda shoved it in the sides so it wouldn't move while I slept. Then I bought a ton of those furry pillows in all different shades of red, orange, yellow and blue and just tossed them around the perimeter of the room.

The walls and ceiling are completely black and look like regular walls until the sun goes down.

See, the walls aren't actually _walls_. There's a device created on my home world. It's a little black box made out of cubes that when pushing the right squares in, it unfolds and covers the already existing walls of any room. But the really cool thing? It's actually a screen made up out of lights.

But it's not like the entire wall glows. Not even close. Instead, they glow in little dots that mimic the stars and moon of stone. And there're moving, so the constellations I see on my walls are the same as I would be seeing at that time of year from my home. But the thing about stars from my planet is that there not actually the same thing as the sun.

Ya, another confusing fact you'll probably never completely understand.

See, our sun is what gives us the power to transform. No one knows what it was exactly, just that it wasn't a star and that it changed colors throughout the day.

Remember how I told you about the sunset forever ago? Our sunsets don't happen because the rays of light have to go through more pollution and atmosphere and such to reach us at that time like your sun, it's because the sun would laterally change to those colors. It was the same colors as sun set during sun rise. After that, it changed from red through purple until it was sun set once again.

But I'm getting way off track here.

So the sun had certain properties that give us the power to transform. Again, not sure how it works, but that's how it happens. And although you only need to be exposed to the sun once to gain shape shifting abilities, our bodies have to grow to accommodate the ability to change. That's why we can only transform once we reach 12. Because our bodies reach the minimal growth to handle the change.

So here's what's been going on. I was **not** going to risk damaging my room any more than I already was by still being in the condo, and not for the first time was I grateful that I had barely any furniture.

I put my laptop in my room and shoved the furniture/carpet from the living room into the kitchen and just sat down leaning against the wall. I took a quick glance at the clock.

It's only 9:20.

Why do the cosmos hate me so much?

I sigh resignedly and move to the center of the room. The only time I'm ever able to relax or pass time quickly in stressful situations is through meditation. On Stone we called it revision, but I'll call it meditation for your benefit.

I sat cross legged with my eyes closed and let my hands rest on my knees as my head drooped forward ever so slightly.

I took deep even breaths and focused on my heart beat

_Th-thump….. Thu-thump._

'_As…gon…..'_

That's strange. I normally don't hear anything when I meditate except my breathing or my heart beat

_Th-thump.…. Thu-thump._

'_How…. Los….important!'_

It doesn't sound like it's coming from inside the building or outside. Which is strange, because if it's not coming from the streets below or the occupants of the building, then where _is _it coming from?

_Th-thump… Th-thump._

'_Where…..go…..nes'_

Something's wrong here.

I focused on the voices, trying to make out what they were saying.

_Th-thump… Th-thump._

'_**They must have stolen it!'**_

_th-thump... th-thump._

My vision flashed once, and I tried to close my eyes to get rid of the blinding glare, but my eyes were already closed. The glow began to disappear, but I saw something else entirely.

There were two men, both in long white lab coats. One was sitting on a tall stool and the other was standing a foot or so away. I couldn't see anything else, it was just them and fuzzy grey outlines of the few things surrounding them, but otherwise the same bright white as before.

The one sitting down, with blond hair, was looking at the other man, wearing  
>glasses, skeptically.<p>

'_Why would they steal it? They had no reason to' Blondy said._

'_Of course they did you dolt. This serum would enhance senses and the bloody felines would be the most dangerous species if they heightened their already enhanced senses.'_

'_That's a nice theory, Max, but do you have any proof to go along with your assumptions?'_

_Th-thump.. Thu-thump_

'_It's not an assumption! They obviously stole it. They're the only ones with access to this room except us, and I was with you when we left the lab, and all day today. So it obviously wasn't one of us. And it wouldn't have just walked away.'_

'_Again Max, without any proof the most you're going to get is offended and angry coworkers bearing down on your door.'_

I saw the man open his mouth and start yelling angrily again, but the scene was fading back into bright white light. I couldn't make out anything. In a flash I saw a group of friends sitting in some kind of field.

_Th-thump. Thu-thump_

'_Hey Josh, my mom's missing some balls of yarn, you wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?'_

'_Why would I know where they are?'_

'_No reason. It's just that you're the last person who was over at my house before they went missing and with you being a cat and all….'_

'_You think I took it!'_

'_Did you?'_

'_No!'_

'_Matt, why would you even think that? He's your best friend!'_

'_Oh shut up Mindy. '_

'_What is your problem today Matt?'_

'_No problem Josh. I've just had my eyes open is all.'_

'_Really? So you can teach an old dog new tricks.'_

'_Mindy, get lost. I don't need you going all fox on me.'_

'_God Matt, when did you become such a jerk?'_

'_I'm not a jerk Josh. I've just come to the realization that I should get more friends from my species. I don't need a cat to hang out with anymore.'_

_Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump._

Another flash and I found myself in some kind of government briefing room.

'_The birds are gathering their forces 40 miles to the west. They've already taken out most of the squadrons we've sent their way. We're expecting them to attack at dawn.'_

'_How are we going to counter attack?'_

'_Most of the snakes here are venomous or very large. They're going to stay here and fight while the rest of us are going to go to their base when they're here fighting and take what we can, food, water, supplies, etc. We dump the rest in the river.'_

_Th-thump Th-thump Th-thump._

'_We salvage what weapons we can if they have any, then we're going to deposit the items in our storage base 15 miles east, then return and help take down what birds there may be left.'_

'_And the ones staying here?'_

'_You're going to wait for them to come into our territory. Home field advantage will be necessary for the attack on this enemy. The workers have been busy connecting all the burrows we have to create a network of tunnels so that should help you fight them off. Venomous spiders, bite them once and move on quickly. The more birds you manage to poison the more that will go down later in the fight when it starts taking effect. Larger snakes, you're going to be doing the defense and making sure none of the birds make it into our base. Kill them however you can, but do it quickly. Is that understood?'_

'_Yes sir.'_

'_Alright. Start your preparations immediately.'_

_Th-thump-thu-thump-th-thump-th-thump._

Another flash, and I was in what looked like a high school court yard.

'_I hate black bears!'_

'_What? But your dad is a black bear!'_

'_And?'_

'_You hate black bears because you hate your dad?'_

'_No. I hate my dad _because _he's a black bear.'_

'_But I thought you wanted to be a black bear just last week?'_

'_Ya, and you wanted to be a stupid fox.'_

'_Not anymore. Foxes are stupid._

'_Your best friend is a fox.'_

'_I never said he was still my friend.'_

_Th-thump-th-thump-th-thump_

'_Why don't you like foxes?'_

'_I never said I don't like foxes.'_

'_You'd still be his friend if he wasn't a fox. Like I'd still love my dad if he wasn't a black bear.'_

'_That's completely different. Friends come and go. Family is supposed to last forever.'_

'_You only think that because you and your entire family are the same type of the same species.'_

Another flash, but this time the scene was completely different. Instead of the bright white edges I'd been seeing I saw everything in black. Well… almost.

I couldn't say I liked it much better.

**(Okay, this is the kind of disturbing part. Well… I found it disturbing when I was writing it. I'm not sure how you guys are going to react.)**

It was night time and the moon just wasn't…. right. It was a crescent and was tilted to the left ever so slightly. It was very close to the horizon. The moon appeared almost comically big. And the color was a strange kind of white swirled with grey. There were two mountains that rose above it on either side as if to frame it. And the stars weren't… well… stars. They looked like they had been cut out of the moon. Same coloring, and they gave off the same glow as the moon. But instead of just dots, they were larger. And they were made up of five points.

Everything around me was like a silhouette. The trees were completely black. The ground, while still dark, had the distinct tint of brown.

But none of this really bothered me.

It was the sky.

Instead of being black like it should have been, it was a deep blood red.

_Ththumpththumpthuthump_

Then I noticed a cluster of boulders rising up of the ground not too far away.

I swear my heart jumped right out of my chest when I saw the figure standing on top of the pile.

He was incredibly tall. Probably seven to eight feet tall. But every part of him looked as if it had been stretched. Everything about him was thin. His legs were disturbingly long. They made up most of his height. His arms were just as long, but his hands and feet were big and meaty. His torso was also small and thin, but still tall.

Then I saw his face. It was the oddest shape. It was long and started out wide but thinned as it went to his chin which was somewhat flat and square.

His eyes looked almost as if they were on his forehead, which was also oddly flat. They were large and abnormally round and seemed to almost glow in a yellowy color where the white should have been and he didn't have any coloring around his shockingly small pupil. And his ears were pointed.

But that's not what scared me.

It was his smile.

His smile was so large it literally took up all of his face. His teeth were long and spiked and looked like dangerously pointed triangles. The teeth on the top row all pointed down and vice versa for the bottom row. When he had the teeth pushed together they looked like interlocking shapes.

He also wore a black suit. It was one of those fancy, upper-class, formal kinda of suits. He had a white undershirt, black shiny shoes, a tie the same color as the sky. There was some kind of chain on the front. He held a long black cane in his right hand with a gold knob at the top for him to hold onto.

I highly doubted he needed the cane.

I swear, the only thing normal about him was his skin color.

**(Okay, just to clear this up.  
>Imagine this guy's face with normal coloring and a regular, swanky top hat: http : 2. bp. blogspot. com/_ SrWutPLnIMQ/ TUjaQpy2NaI/ AAAAAAAAACE/ JdFY2iADNl8/ s1600 /the_ millennium_ earl. png**

**This guy's suit with a red tie: http :/ images. wikia. com/ blackbutler /images/2/27/ Kuroshitsuji_ Volume_ 1_**

**And this guy's body (except the head, obviously.): http :/ browse. deviantart. com/ ?qh= §ion =&q= tall+ and+ thin+ anime+ guy+ #/ d3hud52**

**Ya, that's what he looks like. Creepy isn't he?)**

There was blur of movement and a cold breeze, the man was standing over me, looking down with the same disturbing smile. Suddenly he seemed a lot taller than 8 feet.

Then he laughed.

It was one of the most disturbing things I had ever seen and I'd never be able to forget. It started as a deep, dark, chuckle. It seemed to come from every direction, becoming louder and louder until it filled my very sole with fear.

But his mouth wasn't even moving.

It grew and escalated into a laugh so hysterical I almost thought it might have been mine.

Then everything started to disappear. The man faded, but his laugh echoed all around me. then the mountains and the trees and even the ground and the stars. The last thing I saw was a full view of the blood red sky engulfing the moon.

_Th-thump….. th-thump… th-thump…_

**(Okay, possibly disturbing part over.)**

I jerked backward, falling out of my meditation position in a blind panic before getting up off the floor and scrambling out of the room. I rushed right pasted the elevator and went down the stairs and all but sprinted out the lobby. I didn't stop running.

I'm not sure how long I was running for, actually. It was all sort of… blurry. I was still reeling in what I had seen when I finally had to stop running somewhere in Central Park, nearly choking in my haste to breath, when it finally hit me like a tone of bricks.

The sky was a beautiful mass of pinks and oranges, with a light blue on the edges. The birds had stopped chirping and it was one of the few moments in the day when the city seemed to be on the brink of silence before darkness fell and the night life roared.

Sunset.

The entire day. I missed the _entire _day. And I didn't even transform. That's not how it's supposed to work. I'm supposed to transform into my inner spirit and spend the rest of the day figuring out how to use my new form.

I looked up at the sky again, and my breath caught in my thought. But then I blinked, and it was gone.

The last bit of sun was just dipping below the horizon, but light stilled filtered through the sky, making it glow soft orange tints mixed with pink, the dark blue seeping in on the opposite side of the sky.

But for a moment, just a _fraction _of a second, the sky had been stained a deep, dark, blood red.

**Okay, first off, I'm sorry this chapter was kinda disturbing I promise that the rest of the story won't be like this. It'll have the same guy in it later on, obviously and it'll seem kinda dark but I swear all the other parts of the story will be normal. **

**Okay, now don't be mad. I know I told you guys that all the action would start this chapter, but I realized that I needed to get all this out of the way first, so that the rest of the story will be set. So I SWEAR the action starts in the next one. He turns into a wolf and everything. But I can't promise well meet the Saturdays yet.**

**Beta Note: Hey! I'm sorry how long it took to get the betaed version of this chapter up, but at least its here now, right? So apparently next chapter starts the action! I can't wait! ^_^**


	4. golden hatred

**Oh my goodness, don't kill me! I'm sorry it's taken me so long! But to make up for it I did this, and I'll have the next chapter up soon. All I have to do is type it (I have it written, just not on the computer) and send it to my beta! Anyway, you shouldn't be too mad and you should pity me because I broke my toe on Thanksgiving. Anyway, I kinda lied when I said the rest of the chapter wouldn't be creepy. Sorry! Go read.**

**Beta Note: Hi it's PhantomGirl12! ^_^ Anyway, you guys better read the author's notes because for some reason I have to seperate eachandeveryword. Yeah. So someone better apreciate my hard work!**

_Previously-_

The entire day. I missed the entire day. And I didn't even transform. That's not how it's supposed to work. I'm supposed to transform into my inner spirit and spend the rest of the day figuring out how to use my new form.

I looked up at the sky again, and my breath caught in my thought. But then I blinked, and it was gone.

The last bit of sun was just dipping below the horizon, but light stilled filtered through the sky, making it glow soft orange tints mixed with pink, the dark blue seeping in on the opposite side of the sky.

But for a moment, just a fraction of a second, the sky had been stained a deep, dark, blood red.

**Chapter 3 ~ Golden Hatred**

_I couldn't breath._

My heart leapt out of my chest with every breath. I was moving faster with every pound of my feet. My limbs burned with every movement. I had to keep moving.

_I had too._

The sky was fading into darkness, the first stars appearing in the sky and the moon was beginning to glow. People were scattered throughout the street. Businessmen with brief cases, girls in tight dresses, old men begging for change, the temperature was rising rapidly.

_Move._

Searing pain ran through me. The last rays of light were on the edge of disappearing and the street lamps flickered to life as cars zoomed past. The heat was blistering, unbearable.

_Go._

And then the sun light was gone. The sky so dark it swallowed the light. Street lamps dim and flickering, my bones screamed and my muscles constricted, my eye sight dotted with stars. But I couldn't stop. My heart beat ferociously against my ribs, my lungs gasping for air and receiving none. My head was spinning, and the air turned so cooled my teeth were chattering.

_Don't stop._

I was getting bigger. My muscles were growing, my bones shifting. My flesh tore open and I was still running, my feet and hands clawing at the pavement as I went. I was warm, the wind racing through my hair. My teeth were sharper, and spiked. Some even molded together. And the world was suddenly a mesh of muted and distorted color.

_Faster._

I turned down another street, the buildings taller than I remembered. The flickering lights farther away. The few people located on the block were all bigger than they should be. And just like that, they were sent into a frenzy. I didn't stop, didn't pay attention. They were running and screaming and looked flat out terrified. But I was still moving, still running away, and I didn't notice how they were all cowering in fear. Didn't notice how some were even crying. Didn't notice the sirens in the background.

Didn't notice that there was nothing there.

And then I was gone, moving faster and faster, speeding past buildings, the sirens blending into the intensified sound of the city. The smells invigoratingly strong. Air rushed into my lungs, and I was gasping for more. My heart beat was strangely calm, and nothing hurt anymore.

_Move._

And when I turned the corner, everything came rushing up to meet me. The way everything was so much bigger than it should be. How I could hear for what seemed like miles away. The smells all so strong and the strange coloring of EVERYTHING.

_Run._

And I took off, faster than ever before and I was lost. I couldn't see where I was going, my mind still stuck in what I saw. When I had rounded the corner I was cut off by a building made of mirrors, and I _saw_it.

It was a wolf. A large and beastly one. The limbs looked strong, rippled with muscle and power. It was as dark as the sky and looked as if it were made of the shadows themselves. Its ears were big, its tail bushy, and its muzzle long. But the teeth, the teeth were dripping with blood, as if it had taken a fresh kill, its fangs as sharp as razors. There was only one spot where its fur was a color other than black. A strange, lopsided star right in the middle of its forehead, radiating with the same eerie glow as the moon. And its _eyes._They were indescribable. The pupils were slits, as if they were a felines, and the irises, a fierce, burning golden, were surrounded by a stark white. They were sharp and calculating, but filled with a hatred so strong it sent shivers down my spine, and they were clouded in what could only be blood lust.

It took me a moment to realize that I was looking at the wolfs reflection in the mirror I was facing, and not the wolf itself. I turned around quickly, but the wolf wasn't there. I looked back at the reflection, trying to find where it might be in relation to my own reflection, and that's when I heard the sirens approaching. It took me another minute to connect the dots, but soon I was off again.

_Faster._

I tried to shake the memory from my head as I raced down the sidewalks, but it wouldn't go away. I wasn't in the mirror. _I__wasn't__in__the__mirror._I had been standing a few feet from the building, right in front of the wall. I should have been there. _I__should__have__been__there._But I wasn't. Just the wolf. Nothing else. But I wasn't looking at a wolf. I would never be able to find my self in the mirror. Because I wasn't there. Not in the way I should be.

I was the wolf. I _am_the wolf.

The wolf wasn't just a reflection. It was my reflection. And suddenly, I didn't want it. I didn't want my spirit form. I didn't want to be from another dimension. I wanted to be from your world. Where people don't turn into monsters and beasts. Where there's just one sun and just one moon and you have science that can explain everything and an order to the world where everything works the way it's supposed too. I didn't want to be a wolf; I didn't want to be a phoenix. I just wanted to be me, curled up in my nice condo drinking your coco like everyone here would. But I can't. I can't be normal.

_Move._

And as much as I was terrified of the wolf, what terrified me the most was the fact that I didn't want to be _home_with my parents. Back in my own world, before it was ravened by war. Back under my asile tree. But that I wanted to be HERE. Here, where my parents are still dead, and where I have to work for everything down to the cloths on my back. Here, where I was all alone.

I was broken from my reprieve by the sirens. They were growing closer, and I realized that they weren't just part of the city soundtrack anymore. The sirens were coming for me. And I didn't know what to do. There was nothing I _could_do. I couldn't sneak back into my condo. Central Park was on the entire opposite side of the city. There was no where to go. And I was getting tired.

I didn't know what to do.

_Keep moving._

_**Okay, now I know I'm not the only one who gets mad when a story turns out creepy and all the author says is: I didn't intend for it to be this creepy, really. And doesn't explain how that woks. Well I don't know how other authors do it, but what happens with me is I start with a little one sentence idea for the chapter, figure out the first sentence of said chapter, and I just go for it. I just start writing and keep writing, and writing, and writing. And I made the decision to never change what I write completely. That's what happened with the old version of the story and it ended because it was originally going to turn out like this but I thought that was too dark so I changed it and it ended up being too much like the story it was based off of and I wasn't happy with it and instead of changing it again I just started from scratch and that's how this story was made. By the way, the title of this story will probably be changed soon so don't get all confused by that. But I know some of you will because if you're like me you never bother to read long author's notes. Anyway, like I said, I'll have the next chapter out as soon as I get it edited by my beta!**_


End file.
